Cloud Formation
Basic Cloud Formation
1. Warm air (less dense) rises and cools due to
elevation change (lapse rate).
2. Water vapor will condense when moist air is
cooled.
3. Water vapor will condense around condensation
nuclei.
4. Specks become droplets.
5. Huge numbers of droplets forms clouds.
Ways that clouds form:
Daily Cloud Formation
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Sun’s rays warm the ground causing evaporation.
Warm air rises.
Air cools with higher elevation.
Water vapor condenses to form clouds.
Costal Cloud Formation
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Warm, moist air comes from the ocean.
Warm air clashes with cold dry air on land.
Clouds form.
Common on coastal areas.
Mountain Cloud Formation
1. Warm, moist air is elevated.
2. Air cools to dew point because of elevation
change.
3. Clouds form.
4. Windward vs. Leeward
a. Windward = rainy
b. Leeward = dry
5. Common in mountain areas.
Frontal Cloud Formations
1. Cold dense air (cold front) moves in causing
warm air to be pushed upward.
2. Warm air cools with elevation and condenses to
form clouds.
3. Common with arrival of cold front weather
systems.